How to write a current review?

"Suddenly, a spring breeze comes overnight, and thousands of pear trees bloom." This sentence cannot be more appropriate to describe the current commentary column. Large and small newspapers have opened comment columns under the name "Current Commentary". Among them, some of the more outstanding and influential ones include: "Freezing Point Review" of "China Youth Daily", "Wenhui Review" of "Wenhui Po", "Ark Review" of "Southern Weekend", etc. These current comment columns are very popular, changing the situation where few readers paid attention to news comments in the past, thus giving full play to the power of news comments in reflecting and guiding public opinion.

If we want to discuss this craze of current commentary, we cannot avoid the "Freezing Point Current Commentary" column of "China Youth Daily". "Freezing Point Commentary" was the forerunner of this trend of current commentary. Later, many newspapers used it as a model for their current comment columns. From the column names to the article styles, they all imitated "Freezing Point Commentary"; at the same time, "Freezing Point Commentary" It is also the most influential among many current commentary columns. This column won the "Second China News Column Award" in 2001. Its articles are frequently reprinted in major media and have a good reputation among readers. Therefore, the author believes that it is necessary to do some research on "Bingdian Commentary" so as to gain some understanding of the writing of this "popular" literary style.

Asking questions about our situation

China Youth Daily decided to create a comment column mainly from the perspectives of the newspaper and readers. On the one hand, domestic newspapers and periodicals at that time were generally unsatisfactory. China Youth Daily believes that in addition to publishing important news, a national newspaper also needs to have distinctive and popular speeches. However, "for a long time, speeches in newspapers have become the patent of the 'official' for some reason.' Editorials 'There are very few, usually on major anniversaries, and there are a lot of empty words and clichés that are impossible to read; the frequency of articles signed by 'our newspaper commentator' is slightly higher, and the readability is also very poor. In the era of planned economy, This serious flaw is difficult to improve.” ① On the other hand, “For newspaper readers, they not only need good, multiple, true, and comprehensive news reports, but also timely, profound, and ‘talking’ stories. People's comments (as opposed to fake ones) are also called "expressions of opinions" - readers subscribe to this newspaper and hope that this newspaper can often say what they want to say. More importantly, the readers of the newspaper are no longer. Pure recipients of one-dimensionality, they are also eager to participate. They have something to say about the news published in the newspaper, and even about what they see and hear in life. By subscribing to this newspaper, they are not only Just to read, to speak, to publish, and to communicate with people with different opinions..." ②

Based on the above considerations, "China Youth Daily" finally published an article in "Freezing Point News" in November 1998 A brand new comment column - "Freezing Point Commentary" was launched on the page, which appears three times a week in the newspaper, embodying the principle of "high frequency and timeliness" and maintaining the ability to respond keenly to news events. In terms of positioning, the China Youth Daily defines the column as "clear and rational judgments on news events." The standard for articles is that the minimum limit is a reasonable judgment that is in line with national conditions, and the high limit is that it is consistent with the spirit of democracy and the rule of law. ③

In the early days of its establishment, "Freezing Point Review" covered a wide range of comments. However, with the passage of time and the development of the column, "Freezing Point Review" gradually abandoned the "large and comprehensive" line and included The column is positioned to "embody the spirit of democracy and the rule of law" and has gradually established its own style.

In a sample study of "Freezing Point Review" articles in recent years④, the author found that the topics of most articles in this column focus on the following aspects:

First, the government Governing. "Freezing Point Review" shows great concern about the problems that arise in the formulation and implementation of policies by the government. It regularly discusses issues such as the rationality and legality of policies, the level of administration, and the transformation of government functions, covering a wide range of topics. Including illegal administration (such as "Questioning "Forcing Enterprises to Go Online"), local protectionism (such as "Is there "Local Justice""), formalism (such as "What Are the Gift Projects Waiting for"), corruption (such as "How Can I Allow It?" "Crime the people and govern the people good"), etc.

The second is the construction of the legal system. This is mainly related to issues involving legislation and justice, especially issues of judicial justice, including the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies and the quality of law enforcement personnel. , Fairness of law enforcement procedures, etc., such as "Theory of "Correction of Torture", "How Law Enforcement Agencies Can Restore the "Influence"", etc.

The third is market competition.

Mainly discussing issues such as fairness and efficiency, equality and monopoly, undertakings and enterprises, such as "Not for Sale Should End" and "Sovereign Protection of "State-Owned Assets"?" 》.

The fourth is citizens’ rights and interests. Such themes mainly involve the specific rights and interests of citizens and focus on vulnerable groups, such as "Please pay attention to protecting the victimized sisters", "Patients finally become "consumers"", etc.

"Freezing Point Commentary" has also paid more attention to other areas such as citizens' awareness of democracy and the rule of law and media supervision. It can be seen that the focus of "Bingdian Review" is more on the public affairs field that is closely related to citizens' lives. Most of the articles are based on the actual situation of contemporary Chinese people, and have a strong sense of the times and reality. .

At the beginning of the last century, there was also a craze in current commentary in the history of Chinese news. The Times, founded in Shanghai in 1904, was the first to publish a current affairs column, making the style of current affairs popular. China Daily, Minbao, China Daily, Jiangsu Daily and other newspapers have become quite popular in modern history. The most influential newspapers have published a large number of current commentary articles. In fact, this craze has a very similar background to the current craze for commentaries. The first craze for current commentary was popular around the time of the Revolution of 1911, when Chinese society was in the transition stage from feudal monarchy to a democratic political system. The second craze for current commentary is also happening during the period of political and economic reform in my country. At this time, China is in the process of transition. It is undergoing another transformation of its political and economic systems. It is not difficult for us to get some inspiration from this analogy: it is the changes of the times that gave the soil for the emergence of current commentary. The alternation of old and new systems has brought about drastic changes in all aspects of society, and has also added a lot of uncertainty to the process of our understanding of the world. This social condition requires that our media should be more relevant to the times and life, so as to help us Understand the significance and essence of these social changes. There is no doubt that the success of Freezing Point Review is due to its compliance with the needs of the times and society.

Scholar Fu Ranke once said that the distance between current commentary is between ideals and reality, which means that the root of current commentary lies in the gap between reality and goals. The difference between a society's supposed state and its actual state is often the driving force that prompts writers of current commentaries to write vigorously. The key to writing good current commentary articles is to pay close attention to current events and reflect the spirit of the times. "Writing in response to the times" can be said to be the fundamental reason why current commentaries are so popular among readers. Therefore, the topic selection for current commentary writing must be close to our times and life.

Questioning and Criticism

Since the focus of "Freezing Point Review" lies in the gap between reality and goals, this means that it should not only pay attention to the imperfection of reality, It is also necessary to question and criticize the current situation of society. From the day it was born, Freezing Point Review has taken the mission of this era on its shoulders.

Social phenomena are complex, with both bright and dark sides. Correspondingly, news comments should both promote the clear and stir up the turbid, correct and dispel evil. There can be It can be either complimentary or critical. However, most of the current commentary articles are critical comments. In fact, many readers directly equate the style of current reviews with comments that "point out current ills." This view is not scientific in academic terms, but it illustrates an important feature of current reviews. This is very obvious in the "Freezing Point Review" column. A sample study of its articles⑤ found that critical articles in this column accounted for more than 80% of the total number of articles.

From the discussion at the China Youth Forum, the author discovered that the reason why "Freezing Point Commentary" attracted readers' attention and exerted huge influence was largely due to the commentary's criticism of negative social phenomena. So, why do such critical comments easily attract readers? The author believes that this problem can be understood from two aspects.

First of all, the so-called "dissatisfaction with the situation" means that the motivation for public speech comes more from dissatisfaction with the real environment. Negative feelings are more likely to inspire people's desire to express themselves. This objectively results in the majority of commentaries being critical. Once the voice of the public is conveyed and amplified through the media, it is easier for them to resonate among readers.

Secondly, the driving force for social progress comes from the continuous resolution of contradictions within society, and the discovery and resolution of contradictions all begin with the pressure of public opinion caused by "complaints" and "anger". Therefore, raising objectionable voices is actually an inevitable choice for a media that pays attention to social progress and has a sense of urgency.

The voice of the media undoubtedly has a powerful calling effect on citizens who are also responsible. The "Freezing Point Commentary" column, which mainly focuses on critical comments, is loved by a large number of readers.

It is true that "Bingdian Commentary" also has some praise-style articles, but unlike the hymn-style articles in general newspapers, this type of articles in this column never blindly praise virtues and whitewash peace, and remain peaceful in the sound of praise. Full of criticism. For example, the article "Patients finally become "consumers"" (November 3, 2000) affirms the reform measures of the medical system from the perspective of patients' rights and interests, but this new thing itself is a denial of the existing system, so The praise for it actually expresses the author's criticism of backward institutional thinking. The article remains fundamentally critical. In this type of article, the object of praise by the author actually only serves as a basis for comment, but the article does not discuss the matter. It pays attention to the general environment behind the object of comment, and still reflects an obvious critical stance.

From the above analysis, we can see that the spirit of questioning and criticism is actually a red thread running through the entire "Freezing Point Review" column. The critical nature of current commentary is actually a manifestation of "deep love and deep hatred". Its negation and criticism of social phenomena such as injustice, evil, ignorance, absurdity, tyranny, and corruption reflect a kind of social criticism. care and desire for social progress. As the saying goes, "If you don't destroy something, you won't establish it." Current commentary actually exerts a constructive force, so it can win the hearts of the people. Therefore, some scholars believe that the purpose and solution of current commentary lies not in the emergence of a new literary style, but in promoting some transformation of national-social reality. It serves as a promoter in the reform movement of this era. role.

Pursue exclusive opinions

The purpose of news commentary is to state views and express opinions based on selecting certain news facts. Views and opinions are the core of a review, especially for current reviews. Compared with general commentaries, current commentary is an "efficient" ("Southern Weekend" terminology) style that does not pay attention to literary talent in the literary sense, but pursues the pursuit of explaining the truth clearly. Ma Shaohua, editor of "Freezing Point Commentary" wrote in an article: "Current commentary is not a smooth monograph, nor is it a collection of free-association thoughts, essays, or circumstantial satire; it is an unavoidable answer to the news facts themselves. : What do I think about this matter? ”⑥ It can be said that the stance and perspective on news events are often the key to the quality of a current review.

For a long time, there has been a relatively prominent tendency of formalism in newspaper commentary work. Therefore, most of the newspaper commentary articles are clichés, vain, and unbearable to read. Therefore, if "Freezing Point Review" wants to draw readers back into newspaper reviews, it must present high-quality reviews to readers. This means that comments must have a solid point of view, be meaningful, and be able to benefit readers' thoughts. "Freezing Point Commentary" puts opinions at the supreme position. In the words of column editor Ma Shaohua, "You have to say something that others have not heard before it will be effective." ⑦

First of all, "Freezing Point Commentary" is good at digging out valuable things from some non-public opinion hot spots and some events that we are accustomed to, finding out the essence and core of things, and raising them to a certain level of thought. "For Whom the Flag Falls" (December 2, 1998) is a typical example. The author noticed that my country's "Flag Law" stipulates that when an unfortunate incident with heavy casualties occurs or a serious natural disaster causes heavy casualties, the flag can be flown at half-mast in mourning. At that time, the 1998 flood in our country had just passed, and no one thought of flying the flag at half-mast for the thousands of dead compatriots. Comrade Yang Shangkun also passed away at this time, so it was self-evident that the flag was flown at half-mast across the country. The author points out that this phenomenon is a continuation of the "courtesy of common people" in hierarchical society. Although modern democratic society should be courteous to "common people", the traditional thinking of the official system makes people forget the provisions of the "National Flag Law" Lose.

Although the subject matter of this type of article is the life phenomena around us that we don’t take seriously, the authors of the current commentary are able to keenly capture the key points and find the "commentary value" from these events. . Although such commentaries are not aimed at major current events, their significance is no less important than major events. Readers will feel a sudden enlightenment after reading them, and gain wisdom after reading them.

Secondly, for some hot topics of public opinion, "Bingdian Commentary" can also put forward some unique and insightful articles.

We might as well take "The Ideological Origins of "Media Trial"" (May 21, 2001) as an example. The social climate of public opinion created by media judicial reporting has a great impact on the judgments of judges and juries. Therefore, the press and the judiciary are quite critical of media trials. However, this commentary believes that this phenomenon does not so much reflect the dislocation of the social role of the media, but rather reflects the remaining "rule of man" thinking in the minds of judicial personnel. The article pointed out that judicial personnel should not pay attention to the pressure of the media and the public when judging cases. The so-called "public opinion" is not the basis for trials. In the context of media intervention, judges cannot act according to the law itself, which is actually a lack of professional quality. manifestation. Amid the denunciation of media trials in academic circles, this article takes a unique approach and focuses its scrutiny on the other side of the conflict, which is refreshing.

Open Forum

The fact that "Freezing Point Commentary" can become a "sharp, calm and active" ideological position depends largely on the openness of this column.

The first is the openness of perspectives. Although "Freezing Point Review" is the flagship product and the core of its page, it is not the authority on this page, but a "target". The editor of "Freezing Point Review" consciously expressed doubts about the views of "Freezing Point Review" articles in the "Different Viewpoints" column on the same page. Readers can often see that an article just published in "Freezing Point Review" was doubted and criticized later on the same page, regardless of whether the author of the article is an expert, scholar or the column editor himself. Actively absorbing different viewpoints and encouraging debate among opinions has become an editorial policy of Freezing Point Review. This approach has changed the previous lonely situation of newspaper commentaries singing "one-man show" and "arguing without arguing", and achieved a plurality of opinions and rich viewpoints at a more essential level. Because the atmosphere of doubt and rebuttal is the environment that active thinking should face, the abandonment of "authority" actually lowers the entry threshold for current commentaries, stimulates readers' more desire to express, and allows thoughts to be reflected in the collision of opinions. get promoted. As the "China Youth Daily·Youth Topics" published on November 1, 1999 wrote, "Ideological progress may be conceived in 'differences', while sameness can only keep us where we are." Not only that, "differences" Opinions” are actually citizens’ legitimate rights to express themselves. Commentary is a way of "universal expression" for citizens, which of course inherently requires giving readers a chance to say "no".

The second is the opening up of the author team. November 1998 was the first month that "Freezing Point Review" came out. Most of the articles were personally edited by the column editor. This is related to the fact that the column is new, not well-known, and the channels for manuscripts have not yet been developed. "But this tight situation soon changed. Readers from all over the country suddenly found a forum where they could express their opinions every day, and the number of submissions increased greatly... So far, no issue has been interrupted due to insufficient sources of submissions." The author told the newspaper in 2002 The sample survey found that each article in the sample was written by a different author, and the duplication rate of authors was zero. This fully reflects the trend of the column’s author team gradually broadening and their voices becoming more diverse.

Generally speaking, newspaper review columns will inevitably produce a group of "prolific" writers and maintain a high appearance rate. However, editor Li Datong believes that for a current commentary column that appears frequently, "it is impossible to rely on the newspaper's own commentators, nor can it rely on a few writers. If we don't rush, we need a large number of readers, that is, non-professional writers." comments". At the same time, the wider team of authors actually gives all strata and interest groups a chance to speak. In the words of Li Xueqian, editor-in-chief of China Youth Daily, "big mouths and small mouths all speak."

Some people believe that today’s media competition has entered the “viewpoint era.” In the past, we emphasized that the main way to win in competition is to provide timely, accurate, and rich information. However, in today’s highly developed world of information, The information provided by newspapers is becoming more and more homogeneous, and the possibility of exclusive news is significantly less than in the past. Therefore, whether a newspaper can not only provide information but also present some views with deep thought and unique insights has undoubtedly become the main factor that determines the quality and influence of the newspaper. He Li, the editor-in-chief of the Economic Observer, expressed a very insightful point of view: Knowledge is power. For the media, the right to speak is power. This is especially true for mainstream newspapers. There is no doubt that the success of "Freezing Point Review" has given us a lot of inspiration.

Notes:

①②Li Datong: "Talk about "Freezing Point Review"", "Asking Questions about Our Situation", China Youth Daily Publishing House, 2000

③"China News Yearbook 2002", 2002 edition of China News Yearbook Press

④The author selected 105 articles from more than 600 reviews published by "Freezing Point Review" from its establishment in November 1998 to the end of 2002. Articles were used as samples, and the method of equally spaced segment sampling was adopted, that is, articles published in May and November of each year were selected as the objects of investigation. In addition, the content of each article in this analysis is divided into 8 major categories, namely: government governance (36 articles, accounting for 34.3%), legal system construction (10 articles, accounting for 9.5%), and citizens’ rights and interests (9 articles, 8.6%) , market competition (9 articles, 8.6%), public opinion supervision (5 articles), democratic awareness (4 articles), culture and education (5 articles) and other categories (26 articles). This classification is not a complete parallel relationship logically, and some categories may overlap in connotation. At the same time, in view of the ambiguity of the subject matter itself, this analysis is mainly based on the discussion perspective of the article when classifying and coding. consider.